Three recent abstract works including "Line-Up" (middle) and "Orange Crush" (right) are on view through December at Radius Gallery downtown.

Three recent abstract works including "Line-Up" (middle) and "Orange Crush" (right) are on view through December at Radius Gallery downtown.

Photo: Steve Bennett, San Antonio Express-News

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Circles and jagged geometric planes characterize "West Window," by Marckstein, who is showing new work at Radius Gallery.

Circles and jagged geometric planes characterize "West Window," by Marckstein, who is showing new work at Radius Gallery.

Photo: Steve Bennett, San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio artist Janis Marckstein is showing her first abstract paintings at Radius Gallery downtown.

San Antonio artist Janis Marckstein is showing her first abstract paintings at Radius Gallery downtown.

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San Antonio painter Janis Marckstein uses resin-treated auto body tape to outline bright color blocks in a new body of abstract work on exhibit at Radius Gallery.

San Antonio painter Janis Marckstein uses resin-treated auto body tape to outline bright color blocks in a new body of abstract work on exhibit at Radius Gallery.

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Computer drawing has played a key role in Marckstein's development as an abstract painter.

Computer drawing has played a key role in Marckstein's development as an abstract painter.

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San Antonio artist Janis Marckstein's "Peppermint Sticks" is part of her ongoing series of "Candy" paintings, which has been her commercial bread and butter over the years.

San Antonio artist Janis Marckstein's "Peppermint Sticks" is part of her ongoing series of "Candy" paintings, which has been her commercial bread and butter over the years.

Photo: Steve Bennett, San Antonio Ex Press-News

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Living in New Mexico for a while caused San Antonio artist Janis Marckstein to adopt a more somber palette such as that in "Gourds."

Living in New Mexico for a while caused San Antonio artist Janis Marckstein to adopt a more somber palette such as that in "Gourds."

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The abstract blooms from artist's hand in rosy exhibit

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Both of Janis Marckstein's grandmothers were "Sunday painters."

"One of them painted roses," she said.

A grandmother herself now, Marckstein paints roses, too. But these are not your grandmother's roses. Floral representations led the San Antonio artist into the world of abstraction, which is where she wanted to go.

"I wanted to do something different, something new, and I started thinking about my grandmothers," Marckstein said recently at the Radius Gallery on Auditorium Circle, where she is showing recent abstract and realistic paintings through Dec. 7.

"Even though roses are not my cup of tea - I consider them a little trite - I thought, 'That's perfect!' " Marckstein said. "It didn't work for me exactly, but I did get a real appreciation for ladies who paint roses. They can be formidable subject matter!"

Her first stab at roses, a realistic composition of yellow, blue and pink roses in full bloom called "Roses in Foreground and Middleground," is flanked by the painting that immediately followed it onto Marckstein's easel. The swirling abstraction inspired by a trip to New Orleans is called "Katrina Roses" and resembles a hurricane-tracker image in technicolor.

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"That was it," she said. "I thought, 'Now I'm moving in the right direction.' I was able to jump right into the abstract, which is what I wanted to do in the first place."

Eventually, the rose became a circle in a painting such as "West Window," which led Marckstein to shards of color, jagged planes that seem to float across the canvas, and eventually to vertical stripes of color outlined by treated tape she found at an auto-body shop.

"I'm not afraid to experiment," Marckstein says.

She uses a Dremel tool to scratch her painted surfaces, makes handmade brushes with rubber bands and constructs her own gel pens out of hypodermic needles at her Blue Star studio. She discovered drawing on her computer a few years ago, and it was a revelation for her.

"I'm a little old lady, and if I want my work to continue to grow in the 21st century, I need to use as many tools as I can," she said. "And there is no greater tool than the computer. With realism, there are 50 ways to start a painting. Now, with the computer, there are thousands."

Born in Temple, Marckstein studied art at Abilene Christian College in the '60s and has been painting and exhibiting professionally since 1971.

The Radius show unveils Marckstein's abstract side. But when an idea takes hold, she returns to old realist series such as "Candy," which led naturally from super-real views of sweets to paintings of cupcakes and ice-cream cones.

It's been her commercial bread and butter over the years, and the Radius show includes examples such as "Peppermint Sticks."

"I go to the studio and paint - that's what I do," Marckstein said. "I'm kind of reclusive. Basically, I like to just be in front of the easel.

"This is my first exhibition of abstracts, and I'm very proud of that," she added. "I just found so much joy painting the paintings in this show."